Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen led the first expedition and on 14th December, 1911, 105 years ago, Amundsen and four others reached the geographic South Pole
Google Doodle paying tribute to the first expedition to the South Pole
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Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen led the first expedition to reach the geographic South Pole. On 14th December, 1911, 105 years ago, Amundsen and four others arrived at the pole. This was five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition.
On it's 105th anniversary Google commemorated the historic event with a special doodle, which depicts the crew at the finish line, taking a moment to bask in the glory while the Antarctic wind whips outside their tent.
According to Google's blog entry, "Amundsen was a lifelong adventurer with a gift for organization and planning. 'Victory awaits him who has everything in order,' wrote Amundsen, and his South Pole journey was a perfect illustration of that principle.
His expedition party consisted of 19 people and nearly 100 Greenland sled dogs. The dogs -- along with the use of skis to cross treacherous terrain -- were key to the team's success."
The blog further states that, "while prepping from Framheim, their base camp in the Bay of Whales, the team maintained a sense of fun. They held guess-the-temperature contests, celebrated birthdays, and told stories. When a subset of the crew made the final trek to the South Pole in December of 1911, their camaraderie and careful preparation helped them win the race to 'the bottom of the world.'"